Electric airsoft guns seem to have a speed advantage, but like all electronics have a power limit. If you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of your next game with a weapon that can’t shoot, you need to know the expected duration of an electric airsoft gun before using it.
Electric airsoft guns last 1.5 to 2.5 hours of active trigger time, which is the time required to fire anywhere between 1100 and 1500 rounds on the field. If you are smart with your electric gun use, you can cover a 5-hour period with a single 1200mAh electric airsoft gun.
If you’ve been wondering, “How Long do Electric Airsoft Guns Last?” but have not found a comprehensive post that covers all the details, look no further. This brief guide covers everything you need to know about battery life before getting a battery-powered airsoft gun. I also have a post with a general overview of how good electric guns are.
Among other things, you will learn how a gun’s mAh (battery power) reflects how many rounds it can fire and what the power rating means in terms of active trigger time. By the end of this article, you will be able to look at an airsoft gun package and deduce how long it will last.
What is the mAh in Airsoft guns?
mAh is milliampere, a unit that measures the battery power that an airsoft gun can hold. The higher the mAh of an airsoft gun battery, the longer it will last. On the flip side, the higher the gun’s mAh, the longer it will take to charge.
For devices like mobile phones and smartwatches, we can estimate charging time to usage time when assessing battery drainage. But airsoft guns are not like that since their electric circuitry is not in use unless a shot is being fired.
In other words, the mAh of a gun doesn’t dictate how much time a gun can work in an airsoft game. It covers how many pellets it can fire. The time rating can be derived from the average pellets fired per minute in a typical game.
How much power does an airsoft gun take to fire a pellet?
Each pellet uses up 1 mAh of power on average. For higher mAh batteries, the efficiency is better, with 1.25 rounds being fired per mAh. So a 1200mAh gun can be expected to fire 1200 to 1500 pellets before it runs out of battery.
A 6-hour game of airsoft can use 3,600 rounds, so 1500 mAh, despite seeming like a lot, is far from enough for multi-hour games.
Round-to-Time Ratio
Now that you know that each mAh of the battery can power 1 to 1.25 bullets in an airsoft gun, it is time to translate that to minutes of active gameplay. For this, we need the average number of rounds fired within a span of an hour.
In an average airsoft game, plays fire 600 rounds per hour of active gameplay. That means you use up 480 to 600mAh of battery for every hour of active shooting. It’s worth noting that in a 6-hour game, you might be pulling the trigger for less than 3 hours. So, don’t confuse active shooting time with game duration.
How long does a 1100mAh airsoft battery last?
An 1100mAh airsoft battery will last 1 hour and 49 minutes of active trigger time, or the time it takes to fire 1100 to 1375 airsoft bullets. In more efficient airsoft guns, the 1100mAh battery can last 2 hours and 17 minutes.
This is very important because most of the electric airsoft guns on the market are 1100 mAh. Since airsoft games can last between 3 and 8 hours, the electric guns might seem insufficient because of the evidently low trigger time.
An 1100mAh airsoft battery is enough for a 4-hour airsoft game. For games that last 5 to 8 hours long, the battery limit might prove to be a handicap. Players can bring alternative, fully charged batteries or can opt for a higher-capacity electric gun.
How long will a 1600mAh airsoft battery last?
A 1600mAh airsoft battery will last long enough to fire 2000 rounds on average. This equals an active trigger time of 3 hours of 20 minutes, which covers the 6 to 8 hours of game duration. If you have a 1600mAh airsoft gun, you don’t need to carry spares.
Which electric airsoft gun should you get?
You should get a 1200mAh electric airsoft gun if you’re into casual airsoft games. If you plan to participate in long, drawn-out ones, you should get a 1600mAh electric airsoft gun. In case you have multiple weapons, you can have an 1100mAh electric gun as well. Regardless of which gun you get, make sure it is fully charged before you step on the field.
It takes 1 hour to charge 300mAh worth of battery. Going by this average, here are the charging times for different electric airsoft guns.
- 1100mAh airsoft gun – It will take 3.6 hours to charge an 1100mAh airsoft gun to full capacity.
- 1200mAh airsoft gun – It will take 4 hours to charge a 1200mAh airsoft gun to full capacity.
- 1600mAh airsoft gun – It will take 5.3 hours to charge a 1600mAh airsoft gun to full capacity.
What can you do if your airsoft gun runs out of battery?
If an electric airsoft gun is your sole weapon, you can borrow a spare gun from a teammate or use a spare battery. In case you have no battery or spare weapon and cannot get one from a teammate, you might not be able to play anymore.
Here is how you ensure that never happens during your airsoft bouts.
- Charge your gun battery – It will take 3.5 to 5 hours on average to fully charge your gun battery.
- Have a spare charged battery – If your gun has an 1100mAh capacity, you will need two batteries.
- Carry a spare pistol – An airsoft sling can help you lug around a spare.
- Shoot strategically – You don’t have to have a ‘one shot, one kill policy,’ but don’t waste your battery being trigger-happy.
Final Thoughts
Airsoft guns can last an entire airsoft game if they have a 1600mAh battery. Otherwise, you have to carry a spare battery or a spare weapon. Despite this limitation, electric airsoft guns give players a greater advantage compared to air and spring guns.